1. Field of the Invention
The disclosure relates generally to devices with multiple functions and methods for switching functions thereof, and, more particularly to devices and methods that directly switch among functions according to a single input command, without the use of a common specific menu.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, portable devices, such as handheld devices, have become more and more technically advanced and multifunctional. For example, a handheld device may provide a communication capability, a global positioning, an image capturing capability, a computer network terminal, a media playback, and various other functions.
Conventionally, to switch among the functions, a user must first issue a command to exit a current executed function, thus returning to a specific menu. Then, another command is issued via the specific menu to select and execute another function. FIG. 1 illustrates the relationship among functions in conventional handheld devices. As shown in FIG. 1, an operating system 120 is installed in the hardware 110 of the handheld device 100. The operating system 120 can provide a user interface 130, such as a specific menu. The specific menu can be displayed in a display unit (not shown) of the handheld device 100. Users can select one function among function 1 to function n (141˜14n) provided by the handheld device 100 via the user interface 130. If the user wants to use another function, the user must first terminate the current function, and return to the user interface 130. Then, the user selects another function via the specific menu of the user interface 130, thus entering an operating interface corresponding to the selected function.
As described, users must issue several commands to accomplish the process of terminating a current function, returning to a specific menu, and re-selecting and executing a new function. The conventional mechanism for switching functions is inconvenient for users. Therefore, the application provides an architecture combining several functional modules, to efficiently and instinctively switch among the functional modules.